Origins of Lenexa - Indian Territory

In 1854 the site which was to become Lenexa, Kansas, was owned by members of the Shawnee Tribe. Each man, woman and child in the local tribe had been allotted 200 acres, and those lands could not be sold without the permission of the President of the United States. In that same year, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating the Kansas Territory and opening the area to settlers. None of the land that would become Lenexa was available for settlement, however, for the above mentioned reason. Following the Kansas-Nebraska Act, long years of political strife began. continue reading...

Santa Fe Trail

This marker, set by The Daughters of the American Revolution and the state of Kansas in 1906, commemorates the Santa Fe Trail where it passed through Lenexa. It is located at the Southwest corner of Santa Fe Trail Drive and Noland Road in Bradshaw Park, downtown Lenexa. This park is part of the original right-of-way that ran through the fruit farm of Squire Charles Alfred Bradshaw. Squire Bradshaw sold the land to the railroad for $1.00 with the stipulation that a depot be erected and maintained on the property.
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Flat Rock Creek /Indian Creek

This location was one of the first overnight stops on the trail. Flat Rock Creek flows into Indian Creek about half a mile from this location. The land surrounding it is now a city park and swimming pool, known as Flat Rock Creek Park. continue reading...

Kansas History Online

Kansas History Online is a project of the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas in association with the Kansas State Historical Society. This project was made possible in part by a 2000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Dane G. Hansen Foundation is providing additional underwriting support for a series of articles covering the histories of towns in northwestern Kansas. The Kansas Humanities Council is providing supplemental funding for a series of articles about the Territorial Kansas period.
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